Balzac once said artistic creation was “an exhausting① struggle”. He believed that only by tenacious work and fearing not afraid of difficulties could you show your talent. It was just like the soldiers charging the fortress②， not relaxing your effort for even a moment.
Once Balzac wrote for hours on end， he was so tired that he could not hold out any longer. He ran to a friend’s home and plunged③ headlong on the sofa. He wanted to sleep， but he told his friend he must be woken up within an hour. His friend， seeing him so tired， did not wake him up on time. After he woke up， Balzac got very angry at his friend. Fortunately his friend had an intimate understanding of him and did not quarrel with him.
Balzac did not smoke cigarettes， nor did he drink any alcohol. But he got one habit： while he was writing he always drank very strong coffee that could almost anaesthetize④ his stomach. He didn’t add milk， nor did he add sugar in his coffee. It would not satisfy him until it was made bitter. People generally did not like to drink such bitter coffee. That had strange stimulus⑤ effect to him， and could help him drive the sleepiness away， according to himself.
① exhaustingadj. 使耗尽的，使人精疲力竭的
② fortressn. 要塞，堡垒
③ plungev. 投入，陷入
④ anaesthetizev. 使麻醉，使麻木
⑤ stimulusn. 刺激，刺激品，兴奋剂
一场累人的斗争
巴尔扎克说过，艺术创造是“一场累人的斗争”。他认为，只有顽强地工作，不怕困难，才能把自己的才华表现出来。这就好像向堡垒冲击的战士，一刻也不能松劲。
有一次，巴尔扎克接连写了好几个小时，累得实在支持不住了，跑到一个朋友家里，一头倒在沙发上。他想睡一觉，但他告诉朋友，一定要在一小时之内叫醒他。然而，他的朋友见他非常疲劳，就没有按时叫醒他。他醒来后，对朋友大发脾气。幸好他的朋友很了解他，没有和他争吵。
巴尔扎克既不抽烟，也不喝酒。但他有个习惯：当他写作的时候，总是呷着几乎可以使胃麻痹的浓咖啡。他的咖啡里既不加牛奶，也不加糖，要熬得发苦才满意。像这样苦的咖啡，一般人都不愿意喝。据他自己说，这样对他有奇异的刺激作用，可以驱走睡魔。